From his collected fictions, the sampling was:

- The Secret Miracle

Personal favorite, I actually think it links well to this discussion of earnestness.

- Man on Pink Corner

A bar story, the characters are a bit rough on the edges. Action packed.

- The Lottery of Babylon

Mystical world where a lottery runs everything.

- Three Versions of Judas

This is a good example of Borges combining non-fictional and fictional elements, he is doing a critical analysis on a fictional author be made up regarding the “real” role of Judas.

- Deutsches Requiem

Part of his explorations on fascism and nazism, written contemporarily (1946) so it has a bit more rawness.

- On Exactitude in Science

The title well describes this short piece.

- In Memoriam, JFK

Also short and incredibly well-written.

- The Zahir

The Zahir creates obsession, to the point of driving the obsessed insane.